Software and Photoshop tricks are great, but they're a poor substitution for doing things in-camera. Over the last year we shared a variety of hacks for taking better photos, looking better in photos, and ways to get professional results without spending your rent money on camera accessories.

Create Your Own Bokeh for Beautiful Photo Effects

What's a bokeh you say? It's that oh-so-wonderful fuzziness in the background of photographs with a shallow depth of field and accompanying starry highlights. You can create you own bokeh effects with a little craftiness.

Position Your Tongue Properly to Look Good in Photos

We live in a culture of oversharing, so odds are someone, somewhere will be snapping and posting photos taken of you at various events. To help ensure you look your best, heed where you position your tongue.

Take Better Pictures by Treating Your Still Camera Like It's Video

People often lament that they "just missed it!" upon seeing they failed to capture a pivotal moment in the action. You can avoid missing the action by treating your still camera like a video camera.

Avoid Mediocre Portraits with These Tricks

You have a camera and a willing subject, but you're not sure how to break your portraits out of the flat blandness that plagues many snapshots. Avoid boring compositions with these tips.

Set Up a High Speed Photography Studio in Your Garage

Many a photography enthusiast has assumed the equipment necessary is far too expensive for quality high speed photography captures. A high speed capture studio on the cheap can be had with this handy guide.

Create Abstract Light Art by Snapping a Camera-Toss Photo

Making abstract wallpaper and gorgeous slow-exposure shots doesn't require a bunch of design apps or photography lessons. Learn how to literally toss your camera to make abstract light art.

Be A Better Photographer On Vacation

Whether you head 30 or 3000 miles away, you'll want to bring back great photos of your vacation. The New York Times posts questions and answers on how to achieve great vacation photos.

Take Better Self-Portraits

Taking a good self-portrait is both a handy skill and a way to expand your photographic repertoire. Save your next profile picture from the camera-held-at-arms-length cliche with these tips.

DIY Tennis Ball Photography Stabilization Unit

DIY web site Instructables details how to make an image stabilizing unit to supplement your steady hand using a tennis ball and a few nuts and bolts.

Shoot Better Nighttime Pictures

Daytime photo tricks don't always translate when you're trying to capture the perfect night shot. The Photography Bay web site outlines tips for taking a stellar post-sunset shot without relying on a tripod or expensive flash system.

Be More Photogenic by Forgetting About the Camera

When the camera comes out, a lot of people instinctively declare that they look awful in pictures. Learn how to be more photogenic and put your best face forward.

Breathe Like a Sniper to Take Better Photos in Low Light

Steady hands are critical to taking low light photographs. Breath like a sniper to make sure you snap the shot when your hand is least jittery.

Create a Basic Ring Flash

If the DIY Fiber Optic Ring Flash we wrote about required too many specialist parts for your taste, check out this much simpler remix. The construction is easy and done with common household items.

Use Composition Rules to Take Better Photos

Photography is a creative art, no doubt, but creative doesn't mean doing everything willy-nilly however you want. Use these basic rules of composition to give your photos an extra boost of visual appeal.

DIY Beauty Dish Enhances Your Portraits

Beauty dishes are great flash modifiers for portrait photographs, but even a cheap model will set you back at least $100. Skip it—a surprisingly effective DIY beauty dish costs less than $20.

Create Stunning High Dynamic Range (HDR) Photos

Gizmodo's John Mahoney explains how to take high dynamic range (HDR) photos so that the results of your photograph more accurately recreate what you were seeing when you snapped the shutter.

Create Studio Quality Photos Using Natural Light

You don't need a blockbuster budget to get high-quality light for your portraits. By coaxing the sun to help in your photographic endeavors, you can create stunning portraits on a tiny budget.

Make a DIY Photography Light Box with K'Nex

Lightboxes aren't just for the professionals any longer. Using them to illuminate your Craigslist and eBay listings can help make a sale, and amateur photogs can get professional-looking shots with one. Create your own using K'nex and a little know how.

Take Great Panoramic Pictures with Any Camera

Panoramic software has come a long way toward making panoramic images child's work. Great software or not, there's no substitution for good source material. Take better panoramic pictures with these tips

Take Better Pictures by Studying Studio Layouts

Whether you're interested in learning more about lighting to add to your photography skill set or you're just curious how proper studio lighting works, this handy guide will provide some photo-enhancing insight.

DIY Tilt-Shift Photography Lens

Tilt-shift lenses create a great miniature effect on photographs of everyday things. The problem? These specialized lenses are insanely expensive (think $1,000 range). This video from Make demonstrates how to make a DIY tilt-shift lens on the cheap.

Take Awesome Sunset Photographs

Sunsets are one of nature's more spectacular displays, and a good one is worth preserving with a photograph. Take pictures that will capture the perfect dusk moment with these photography tips.

Create a Flash Diffuser Using An Empty Cigarette Packet

The right flash can make or break your shot. Unfortunately, not all built-in flashes are created equal. DIY web site Instructables demonstrates how to create a worthy on-the-spot flash diffuser using an empty cigarette packet.

Make a DIY Macro Lens from Old Binoculars

A high-end macro lens for your camera can easily run upwards of a thousand dollars, but you can make a super-simple macro lens for a few bucks out of old binoculars.

Have a favorite photography-related hack from 2009 that wasn't featured here? Let's hear about it in the comments.

We realize desktop wallpaper isn't necessarily the most productive thing on the planet, but you spend countless hours at your computer every week, and sometimes a fresh wallpaper is just the ticket for some rejuvenation.

Note: Click on the name of the particular wallpaper to access the full range of sizes at the source site.

(Click any of the images for a closer look.)

Another World by Orioto

Click on the link above to download a large resolution version.

Crystal Catacomb by Orioto

Click on the link above to download a large resolution version.

Do a Barrel Roll by Orioto

Click on the link above to download a large resolution version.

Dogs and Bullets by Orioto

Click on the link above to download a large resolution version.

Group Work by Orioto

Click on the link above to download a large resolution version.

Sea Battleground by Orioto

Click on the link above to download a large resolution version.

Smooth Criminal by Orioto

Click on the link above to download a large resolution version.

Toxic Planet by Orioto

Click on the link above to download a large resolution version.

Zebes Cave by Orioto

Click on the link above to download a large resolution version.

If you haven't seen Orioto's previous work, be sure and check out the first batch of absolutely amazing wallpapers, and then his second wave of beautiful paintings for your desktop.

If you want to keep up with his work on a regular basis, be sure to follow him over on his Twitter account, where he posts regular updates on new images that he's working on, as well as news about an upcoming video game using his artwork. I don't know about you, but the idea of a video game based on his artwork sounds really great.

Consumerist reader Dino's 64-year-old father had set up a rule that every email sent from his iPhone would blind-CC his personal email address. After he lost the phone, he received a mess of pictures that the kid who "found" it was taking of himself. After the story was posted on the Consumerist, other do-gooders tracked the kid down on Facebook and Hi5 and managed to get him to actually respond. The kid requested that all the pictures be taken down, and in exchange he'd return the iPhone.

This whole series of events took place in 55 minutes, which we're sure would be a record if a record existed for such a situation. Score: internet 1, photo-happy thief 0. [Consumerist]

And, does it all without the usual stigma that affects these kinds of devices—utter butt-ugliness. It's a bit bulky, to be sure, but thanks to some solid Japanese ingenuity it's finally something I feel confident bringing into public for another of my infamous "photos of things you can never take back" field assignments.

As for the specs, the MP4 sports a 1.8-inch color screen (160x128), supports MP3 and WPA, WMA audio, and can display JPG or text files. A video camera mode recordsin 352x288, while the photo mode is 640x480. [Akihabara]

Even though the number of people dissatisfied with something in polls is usually higher than the actual percentage (dissatisfied people are more likely to complain), it's really interesting that that many residents think this is an infringement on their rights. I guess getting your mug on record as being a camwithher viewer is more tangible evidence of the internet crackdown than sites being blocked? [Times Online]

This is one is composed of an incredible 142 separate shots. I wish I had that kind of patience. [p0psharlow via Flickr via Cult of Mac]

Apparently, Bhutanese politicians are addicted to computer gaming and "pictures," whatever that may be. They have protested, arguing that laptops are more convenient than carrying around bundles of papers, but they would have to go back to the porn mags and real poker cards. [Reuters via South Asia Biz]

Now she's suing Sprint and Daryl for $1 million—her husband, David, adds in the filing that the toll on his wife from the pictures has cost him the "services, companionship, love, affection and consortium of his wife." Daryl says that's total BS, they had corresponded over text messages, and she had asked for photos of him and that she actually "expressed her appreciation for receiving such photographs."

Usually the truth lies somewhere in the middle, but honestly, I don't want to get anywhere near this thing, much less thrust my consciousness into the center of it. [Dayton Daily News via Crunchgear]

There are two major types of image sensors for digital cameras and camcorders: CCD (charged-couple device) and CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor, sometimes also known as active pixel sensor). We're not going to get into the really geeky differences, because you don't really need to know or care. What you should know is that higher-end digital SLRs (the big cameras with a removable lens) use CMOS because it's easier to make bigger CMOS sensors; and mobile phones do because CMOS uses less power. That said, most point-and-shoot cameras and most camcorders use the more common CCD sensor.

The big thing about image sensors? Size matters. And we're not talking megapixels. Half the reason shots taken with a DSLR look so much better than the ones taken with your backpocket point and shoot is that the DSLR's image sensor is massive in comparison. The difference can be even more stark when you compare shots from a 2-megapixel cameraphone with a standard 2-megapixel camera. (The other half is the lens—pros will tell you it's all about the glass—but we're talking sensors here.)

You see, in order to cram more and more pixels onto tiny sensors—think $150 cameras claiming to rock 10 megapixels of awesome—you've gotta make the pixels smaller and smaller, which a) makes photos look grainy and b) makes the sensor suck at picking up light. The result: Low-light shots look like they're off a security camera from 1997, especially when you crank up the ISO (light sensitivity) setting. When a point-and-shoot promises you shots at 1600 ISO, it's generally a sacrifice you don't want to make: unuseable pics full of rainbow-colored noise.

The best DSLRs use 35mm sensors, that is, a sensor that is the same size as a frame of standard film. This is known as "full frame." The D3, Nikon's biggest, baddest DSLR camera, costs $5,000 but only shoots at 12.2 megapixels. By contrast, its Canon competitor rocks 23. Still, the D3 beats all comers in low-light shooting, mainly because its 36 x 23.9mm sensor doesn't try to shove a bunch of megapixels onto it. By better, we mean that the pictures have less noise (that rainbow-colored grain). It's also why rumors of a new 24.4-megapixel Nikon spark some concern—there's no way it'll shoot as well in the dark. Sony promises to release a 25-megapixel Alpha DSLR this September. It will be sweet, but being the highest in megapixels doesn't guarantee its place in the winner's circle.

So when you're out camera shopping, don't think that more megapixels is more better. A lot of review sites will list the size of a camera's image sensor (plus the other stuff obviously) and a 6MP camera with a sensor the same size as an 8MP model is gonna take better pictures. Check out these two Kodak point and shoots from CES, the m1033 and Z1085. Same megapixel count, but the Z1085 has a bigger sensor (1/1.7-inches is larger than 1/2.3-inches, non-math majors) and will almost certainly shoot less noisy pictures.

Of course, a DSLR will take better shots than any point-and-shoot, but while DSLRs are getting cheaper every day (only $475 for a Nikon D40 or $450 for a Canon Digital Rebel XT (both with lens) that might not fit everyone's budget. Plus, they don't fit in your pocket, like your dumb cameraphone.

Something we missed, or you still wanna know? Send any questions about cameras (or anything else) to tips@gizmodo.com, with "Giz Explains" in the subject line.

It's no badass like the 7200dpi Plustek OpticFilm 7300, but it costs $100 less and goes beyond most standard scanners, including a 5-megapixel CMOS sensor, 1800dpi resolution and 10-bit color. It doesn't look like it's got a sheet feeder; instead it has a tray specifically suited to 3x5, 4x6 and 5x7s. Drop 'em in, press a button, and presto, it magically becomes a picture on your computer screen—if you have Windows, that is. [Hammacher]

According to Fox News, police detectives have "seen everything from your basic striptease to sexual acts being performed." Our new favorite job ever? Being the evidence inspector on teen naked picture swapping cases.

"A lot more girls are aggressive," said Ray, 18. "Some girls are crazy and they are putting themselves out there."

And then...

Male teens are also doing it.

For instance, a central Ohio high school teen made a sexual cell phone video of himself and sent it to female classmates. One of the girls forward the Westerville South High School's video to at least 30 other people.

Here's a question for you.

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

The electrode in the pic above was attached to a rotating apex, once turned on, the revolving surface was fed by an electricity supply, which gave rise to the effect above via a multiplier. Using various photography techniques, the images above were captured. Disconcertingly, the hot electrode was quite close to the user's face, maintaining a constant distance away by only a few centimeters. We have to ask; when will this madness stop? Electrocution is not cool. [Tesladownunder]

The look of the alleged store appears to be very similar to installer.app, and why not? It sure as hell works. Strangely, the applications already had a shed load of user ratings, but if this is part of Apple's testing routine, that fact is probably not too out of place. What do you, the discriminating public make of it all? [Monsterandfriends via Modmyifone]

Apparently, Nokia has already begun embedding new N95s with the links required for direct access. Nokia confirmed that an official announcement may come before the week's end. Further, it is not only N95 that is going to be let in on the action, more handsets are set to be made compatible once the service launches proper.

The structure for content delivery has not been confirmed in its entirety, but as an example, the News Corps. partnership means users will be able to get free access to "mobisodes" such as 24, as well as various movie clips. Blam's decision to go down the N95 road seems to have been a good move after all. Phew. [The Hollywood Reporter]

Aperture: F-stops are different settings allowing different amounts of light to enter your camera. This is different from exposure, in that the aperture is that funky iris/anus looking thing that is a series of connected sheets that either open or contract to make a hole get bigger or smaller.

Doesn't everything get much simpler when it's explained in terms of anuses? – Jason Chen

How to take AWESOME night photos WITHOUT a tripod [Instructables]

Image Credit

Product Page [Via Outblush]

via satellite or broadband systems. The studios also hope the new delivery methods will cut down on pirating, since it'd mean fewer people would come in contact with the movie. Personally, I'd prefer they make better movies, rather than promise me more screenings, but that's just me. – Louis Ramirez

Hollywood to Provide "Instant" Digital Films [AP via FayerWayer]